“To Put an End to All Walls”

WSF Free Palestine Ends First Day of Activities with Big March

At the end of a long day of activities at the World Social Forum Free Palestine, activists from different organizations who are participating in the event took to the streets of Porto Alegre to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people. Over 6,000 people marched from Largo Glênio Peres to the Usina do Gasômetro, chanting slogans and carrying the flags of different movements, as well as banners in defense of the Palestinian people.

Several representatives of trade union, students, women, peasants and religious organizations expressed their solidarity before, during and after the march. There were also several Palestinians in the city to expose the Israeli blockade and to thank for the expressions of solidarity shown by the people at the WSF Free Palestine.

Some of the demands during the march included the return of the 7 million Palestinians who are refugees in other countries of the region; the release of the Palestinian political prisoners; to expand the boycott against Israeli corporations; to expose Israel’s occupation for violating the Geneva Conventions.

While the representatives of different organizations spoke at the end of the demonstration, it was announced that the United Nations had voted for the recognition of Palestine as nonmember observer State, which will allow the country to file claims before organizations and also before the International Criminal Court (ICC) or the 4th Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. The demonstrators celebrated the decision, although the representatives of several Palestinian organizations said that the aim is to continue fighting to end the Israeli occupation on Palestinian territory through other means (like the forum), since as member of Al Fatah, Nabil Shaath said at the main conference held in the morning: “everything we negotiate with Israel is never enforced”. So the aim is to strengthen solidarity between the social movements and organizations around the world.